Day after tomorrow

The day after tomorrow is the day that comes after tomorrow. It has been exactly two days away since records began, and is still exactly two days away at the time of writing.^[1]

Like the horizon, the day after tomorrow retreats at exactly the speed it is approached: one day per day. It has therefore never been reached, although people often wake up on it without noticing and call it today, which it does not appreciate.

Name

English needs four words to say "the day after tomorrow". German needs one (übermorgen). Linguists estimate that English speakers have spent a combined total of nine hundred years saying the extra three words, most of it in sentences beginning "not tomorrow, the day after".^[2]

A 1971 proposal to shorten it to "tomorrowow" was rejected on the grounds that it sounded like a dog that had seen something.

Uses

The day after tomorrow is the preferred date for anything that cannot be done tomorrow but would be embarrassing to admit cannot be done this week. Many things have been scheduled for it. Some of them have been rescheduled to it several hundred times.

• Tidying a cupboard: the day after tomorrow.
• Returning a borrowed bucket: the day after tomorrow, for the third year running.
• Starting a new habit: the day after tomorrow, because tomorrow is a Sunday and habits start on a Monday.

See also

• Tomorrow – its nearer cousin
• Yesterday – where the day after tomorrow eventually ends up
• Fortnight – the day after tomorrow, plus twelve

References

1. Later, L. (2009). Not Tomorrow, the Day After. Postponed Press. Publication date: the day after tomorrow.
2. Society for Shorter Phrases (1971). "Tomorrowow: A Proposal". Rejected by bark.
3. Calendar, C. (2015). "Two Days Away: A Longitudinal Study". Still in progress.